Starting in 2027, a silent Google update will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, paid up, signed their contract, and handed over government ID. Every app, every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
In August 2025, Google announced a new requirement: starting in 2027, every Android app developer must register centrally with Google before their software can be installed on any device. Not just Play Store apps β all apps. F-Droid apps, hobbyist projects, apps shared between friends: all frozen out unless the developer complies.
If a developer doesn't comply, their apps get silently blocked on every Android device worldwide.
You bought an Android phone because Google told you it was open. Google is now rewriting that deal, retroactively, on hardware you already own. After the update, you can only run software Google has pre-approved β on a device you paid for.
A teenager's first app, a volunteer's privacy tool, a company's internal beta β none installable without Google's blessing. F-Droid calls it an "existential" threat. Cory Doctorow calls it "Darth Android."
Google has a documented track record of complying when authoritarian regimes demand app removals. The EFF calls app gatekeeping "an ever-expanding pathway to internet censorship."
Google's "power user" sideload flow is 9 steps, a mandatory 24-hour cooling-off period, and runs entirely through Google Play Services β which Google can tighten or kill at any time, with no OS update and no consent.
Ars Technica, EFF, F-Droid, Cory Doctorow, and 100,000+ petition signatories. Full press roundup and quotes on the source site.
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